Birmingham City Council votes to bring MLB youth academy to George Ward Park

Updated Mar 19, 2019; Posted Mar 19, 2019

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to allow the city to enter an agreement with Major League Baseball to build a youth baseball and softball academy at George Ward Park. (Anna Beahm/abeahm@al.com).

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday passed a measure that would allow Mayor Randall Woodfin to contract with a Major League Baseball-backed foundation to build a youth baseball and softball academy at George Ward Park. The resolution passed 8-1 with Council President Valerie Abbott being the only councilor voting against it.

The vote came two weeks after MLB officials said they were “reassessing” building a youth academy at George Ward Park. Officials said they were concerned about full community support for the academy after meeting with Glen Iris neighborhood residents.

The youth academy would provide free baseball and softball training and leagues for Birmingham youth. The MLB Youth Foundation would provide between $9 and $10 million to build the training facility and make other improvements to the park, according to the proposed agreement with the City of Birmingham.

“We have a small segments that’s controlling this conversation and I don’t like it. I’m ready to vote. Let’s move on and get to something else," District 9 councilor John Hilliard said during the meeting.

MLB officials have not named specific parks they’re considering to build the MLB academy. However, officials say considering other locations.

“The MLB is not coming to George Ward Park,” Abbott declared just before the vote, citing a conversation she had with MLB officials last Friday.

MLB officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the youth academy in Birmingham.

Another measure that would have allowed the city to spend up to $1.2 million to build an additional softball field at the park as a means of compromise for those residents who had concerns about the MLB academy was removed from the agenda.

The additional field was discussed at a Parks and Recreation Committee meeting last week. The additional field would be adjacent to the existing softball field in the lower part of the park.